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10.11.2011

six new recipes. i've been trying to get them posted for a long time now but, life happens and, what can i do besides all i can do? there's not enough hours in the day.

but listen, these recipes are all really yummy and i've been obsessed with finding slow cooker recipes as well as meals that i can freeze. unfortunately, i will not be the one to cook the frozen meals, i'm giving them away so i won't be able to report back about how well they worked out but, i'll try to get feedback from the recipient and post about the results in the future but i can attest to how delicious each meal was on the day it was prepared. only a select number of recipes made the cut (i've had a few slow-cooker flops the last few weeks) so please, give them a try and tell me what you think.

don't expect much from the posts themselves, my goal was to simply get the recipes up so i could refer back to them in the future, i'm already planning on making the white chicken chili again this week for my hunk's birthday dinner. he's also requested "better than sex" cake which really is ..............

this recipe comes from a wonderful blog, "can you stay for dinner" which is full of beautiful photography, wonderful recipes and the blog author has an incredible story about weight loss and weight maintenance that she chooses to share with the world. i'm grateful for folks like her.

real quick, i made a couple minor changes from the original recipe such as browning the meat and cooking the onions before throwing everything into the pot. i'm sure either way, the chili won't disappoint, i just like to cook the meat a little before to knock the flavor up a few levels.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. whisk cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup of parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside.

bring a large pot of water to a boil. cook pasta al-dente, in a large pot according to package directions. drain pasta and set aside, leaving the pot to be used for white sauce.

heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. cook sausage until nearly browned. add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is completely browned.

stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano. simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup of the basil and the sugar then season with salt and pepper.

in a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and the half and half together.

transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot over medium heat. bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato/sausage mixture and 3/4 cup of mozzarella. stir to combine. add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce. transfer the pasta to a large baking dish and spread the remaining tomato/sausage mixture evenly over the top. sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the top.

cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes (until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown). cool for 10 minutes or so and then sprinkle with the remaining basil prior to serving.

this made enough for a 9x13" baking dish as well as a smaller (two serving) reusable dish that i put in the freezer for later.

remove chicken from water (save water) and set aside. using the same water used to poach the chicken (plus more if necessary), bring water to a boil and cook pasta al dente according to package directions. drain and set aside.

heat milk in microwave and have ready. in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil and butter over medium high heat. saute red pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. add garlic and cook an additional minute stirring constantly. turn heat down to medium and slowly whisk flour into the pan.

once sauce is thickened, add mushrooms, tomatoes to the pan and mix in. let cook for a few minutes and then add the provolone and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. stir until cheese is melted. add the chicken and the pasta to the pan and mix everything together.

spread the mixture into a lightly sprayed large casserole dish (or two smaller dishes; freezing one for later). top with remaining parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browning.

i put aside a serving or two (for someone else) for the freezer in a disposable container.

another successful and delicious recipe from mels kitchen cafe. my friend melissa made this for me when i went for lunch recently and it was so good, i made it for dinner the next night. the whole family loved it.

place chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker. add the onion, garlic, beans, chilies and all of the spices (do not add the sour cream or whipping cream yet). pour chicken broth over top and stir mixture to incorporate dry spices. cook on low for 7 hours. remove the chicken the last 30 minutes of cooking to shred and then put it back in the soup. stir in the sour cream and whipping cream until smooth. continue to cook for the remaining 30 minutes.

this recipe yields about 6 servings. i will double it next time (husband was bummed there wasn't enough for left overs).

this year at rendezvous i volunteered to prepare most of the meals for the group so we would have something to eat besides hamburgers and hotdogs every night. not that there's anything wrong with hamburgers and hotdogs, it's just, well, spaghetti is better.

my idea was to make things in advance that i could freeze and re-heat later while camping. this sauce worked perfectly and it was very good. several people said so, i tell the truth.

now, the only problem is i didn't take a photo of the final (re-heated) sauce atop the (whole wheat) spaghetti noodles so, you'll have to click over to mels sight to see what it looks like.

hello

there was this one time i lost some weight. during the process of doing so, a passion for overall wellness grew within me. to read more, click on the "about this blog" tab above. say hi and thanks for stopping by.